Wearable Linux: Notes from the Field - page 5

Business Now Embracing Wearable Linux

May 22, 2000

By
Michael Hall

From the start, it was apparent that
Microsoft's Rick Engle wasn't going to be making
any new announcements. Engle was involved in
Windows CE at one point in his career with
Microsoft, but now he works with the company's
Federal division. It was also clear that the
audience wasn't the most receptive group of
people, regardless of his well-engineered
PowerPoint slideshow. Open snorts could be heard
when he spoke of Microsoft's "support" of open
standards like Kerberos. One attendee demanded to
know why Microsoft insisted on bringing the
desktop metaphor to wearable computing, where
screen real estate is scarce. His answer said
tons to the audience, too:

"A soldier running through a minefield" might
need a more efficient interface, but a consumer,
by extension, simply doesn't. A low murmur moved
through the audience. If Microsoft's claims to
being the Great Innovator are to be believed,
where does "Good enough for the likes of you?"
fit into the picture? Or maybe it was the hungry
rumble of a roomfull of people who've lived their
careers with one eye over their shoulders,
waiting for the 800-pound gorilla from Redmond to
move in; a roomfull of people who have just
realized it may be open season on the big ape.
Few seemed to believe the desktop is the last
word in interfaces, especially in the small
dimensions of the wearable computer.

Professor Mann, on the other hand, didn't have
much of a slideshow. Instead of slides, he used
glynx to browse his website with the audience,
demonstrating the sort of recall he had available
in a small screen you wouldn't have noticed if he
hadn't had to make a last-minute repair with the
ever-present electrical tape. He also provided a
real-time feed of his view of the world as seen
through a portable cam on the projector screen.
In the proud tradition of academics everywhere,
the camera mostly seemed to hover on his hands,
feet, and glass of juice. From time to time, the
feed would cut out and a transparent xclock would
hover over a 20-column xterm with "bash$"
scrolling every time he'd nudge the return key on
his Twiddler, which happened with nervous
frequency.